Today marks the end of an era with the final presentation about Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS. Despite having been out for more than a year, Nintendo has kept a steady stream of new content, including characters, stages, songs, and costumes flowing. The reveal of Final Fantasy’s Cloud was big news to plenty of gamers, but he was not the only new character discussed today. Get ready to see the final pieces of content for Wii U’s premier fighting game, including the character who won the fan vote for getting the Smash treatment.
The presentation kicked off with the reveal of another new character. Fire Emblem Fates’ main character, Corrin, will be joining the game and, like fellow Fire Emblem character Robin, can be played in male or female form. Corrin promises to deliver a unique style thanks to attacks that mix swordplay with dragon transformations, including one skill that can pin opponents to the ground. Furthermore, purchasing Corrin will unlock two new musical tracks alongside two additional trophies. Corrin will be available in February 2016 for $4.99 for 3DS or Wii U, or $5.99 for both.
Next up was more details about the highly anticipated addition of Cloud from Final Fantasy VII. Along with having a set of fast sword based attacks, Cloud will also be able to charge his Limit Break meter, which, when fully charged, gives him a stat boost alongside replacing his other special moves with stronger attacks, or even different moves in some cases. Cloud comes with a new stage that takes place in Midgar, a major location from the game. Summon Materia will occasionally appear in Midgar that launch strong attacks and/or transform the stage in significant ways when collected; the summons include Odin, Ifrit, Bahamut Zero, and more. What’s really surprising is that Cloud is actually being released today and will cost $5.99 for one console, or $6.99 for both.
New Mii Fighter outfits were also revealed. Nintendo’s partnership with Square Enix has allowed for the inclusion of Chocobo Hats along with Geno, the magically awesome puppet from Super Mario RPG, whose hat and cape can be used as a skin for Gunners. Sword Fighters will have the option to don the look of Takamaru, the samurai character from The Mysterious Murasame Castle, though plenty of gamers will likely recognize him from his Assist Trophy already in the game. A costume of Gil from the Tower of Druaga will also be available for Sword Fighters. Female Sword Fighters won’t have to feel left out, because Ashley from the WarioWare franchise will be lending her look to Mii Fighters as well. Gunners will have another new look with the release of an outfit based on Tails from the Sonic games, while Brawlers will get a Knuckles costume.
Also, to make it easier to have your Mii Fighters look more like the characters whose look they are using, Nintendo has posted QR codes on the official Smash Bros. website that can be scanned to generate Miis that should make them look more authentic.
The biggest news has to go to the revelation of the final character that will be released for the game: Bayonetta. The action heroine won the overall worldwide vote among fans for who to add to the game, and it looks like the developers are integrating pretty much every aspect of the already impressive move set from her games. Bayonetta’s combo-oriented style was inspired by how she controlled in Bayonetta and Bayonetta 2 and utilize her hair-based magic, demon summons, four guns, and even Witch Time, which slows incoming attackers to give her time to counter. Another new stage is included with Bayonetta: Umbra Tower from the beginning of the first game. The stage features platforms that move in and out of the stage, alongside some recognizable demons from the games. Downloading the character also nets you several new tunes for Wii U alongside three new trophies. Nintendo is hoping for a February release for Bayonetta as well, and her pricing will be the same as Cloud’s.
Finally, it wouldn’t be a Smash Bros. presentation without Amiibo news. Ryu, Roy, and ROB in his original Famicom colors will be released on March 18, 2016. Also, all three of the new fighters will be receiving the Amiibo treatment, though release dates are not available yet.
Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS started strong and has ended even stronger with more characters, stages, and just about everything than I think many would have imagined. Sure, everyone could probably name a few characters they would like to see added, but Nintendo has obviously gone to great lengths to deliver one of the biggest, best, and most comprehensive love letters to gamers out there. Though the new content may be coming to an end in a few months, the game will almost certainly live on for many years to come.
Source: Nintendo
Anybody else annoyed that the Smash poll was essentially a farce?
“#1 of Realizable Characters” – Meaning literally anything Sakurai wants it to mean.
No, because that’s not at all what it means. It means the one to four characters that beat her in North America were ones that Nintendo wouldn’t be able to ever use. And seeing as how she outright won in Europe, there were probably only 2 or 3 tops who beat her worldwide anyway.
Even if 100% of the people who voted on the ballot voted for Sly Cooper, he still wasn’t going to happen. Just because whoever it was you voted for didn’t win doesn’t mean it was some giant conspiracy and the ballot was “a farce.”
Ehh, it’s pretty disingenuous to suggest licensing for pretty much any character couldn’t be worked out for a series that has included reps from a multitude of companies at this point. Ryu and Cloud both seemed to be unlikely inclusions before this iteration. Hell, Snake was a bit of a leap as well in Brawl.
I’m also not really sure what “conspiracy” you think I’m pushing here. They kept the parameters of the poll extremely loose throughout, and in the end picked a character that is essentially advertising for an exclusive game. Which is of course also why Corrin was added.
Nintendo themselves stated that no character was off limits when it came to voting. As you stated, they kept the parameters loose throughout the poll.
Without disclosing who was “un-realizable” prior to the poll, it appears that Nintendo wasted many people’s time and votes.
I’m genuinely perplexed by why Nintendo did it this way. If anyone has a great theory or thought, I’m all ears.)
It’s an illusion of choice. Participants unknowingly spent time, thought, and votes on characters who were ineligible in the first place.
I’m inclined to agree that “farce” is an accurate description of the process.
I don’t doubt that no video game character was off limits– after all, Cloud, one of the poster boys for the original PlayStation, made the cut. The ones that weren’t “realizable” were probably cartoon characters (such as Goku or the Ninja Turtles) and the like.
Good point about the cartoon characters. I bet those would present some huge legal work-arounds.
I am happy, the moment she was announced I broke down cheering and slamming my feet against the ground, even tears of joy started to swell up. Bayonetta was my instant pick and she fits well. I never expected her to win because of tbe nudity but they worked around it seemlessly.